Sept. 11

So, there’s a contest to enter an essay for the 10^th anniversary of September 11^th that will be read at the memorial ceremony here. At first, I thought I would enter, but when I started thinking about topics they were all about me. “I wanted to come to law school because…”, “Ten years ago I started this journey….”

And so I guess my essay would belong more on this blog. But, I have to say, for this being in the top 25 schools for international law, I am 8 days in (or 12, or 15 if you count orientation and weekends), and I still don’t know how I fit in to this whole picture. So, I started thinking about it myself. If I am not working as a grassroots legal advisor with Lian, how do I picture myself within the scope of “international law” –what role could I play between nations that would be relevant to both law and conflict resolution? Well, I think I would have to start by being an American advocate for U.S. accountability in international legal arenas. Cause I started to think about what I would like to encourage as far as international standards for criminals or for holding a ‘state’ (country) accountable to some kind of “world order” as states are at least somewhat accountable to the federal government here, and I realized, anything I could think of that might coax a renegade African leader out of his bunker, or even less than that –the U.S. is not going to subject itself to. It might make up an esoteric standard –like the Model Penal Code, or the OECD, but by hell or high water when push comes to shove, when sh*t hits the fan, it is not going to let itself get bound up in that.

          A People’s History of the United States is a good testament to that. (See subsequent blog for my thoughts on this.) Undoubtedly, I am going to face some anti-American accusations. So how could I convince the People of the United States that holding themselves accountable in the international legal arena is in their best interest? Yes, it might mean everything gets more expensive. Mostly, its going to mean that someone is actually going to tell us what we can’t do…America is growing into adulthood. But, I feel like in this Sept. 11 essay I am entitled to wax dramatic –it is worth the cost. Nothing is more important than a human life –your own life and the life of those you love. And every living person on the planet is in this same basic human condition. So, on the 10^th Anniversary of September 11^th I think it’s a good moment to step back and remember and reflect on that. As a lawyer, I only hope I have such an opportunity to demonstrate to people that this is our one universal human goal –everything else is insubstantial.